After the tornados that hit Murfreesboro, TN on Friday Tawny and I managed to find our way out of town to head down to the Wildhorse Saloon for the 103.3 WKDF Birthday Bash.  It was their 10th Birthday and they brought out some big names in country music this year to celebrate.

Jessica Harp, Tent Tomlinson, Jason Michael Carroll, Phil Vassar and John Rich all hit the stage and it was a GREAT show!  Everyone played an acoustic set of at least four songs each.  

I was pleasantly surprised with Jessica Harp.  She has a cool and laid back chic approach to her music.  Just enough fun to keep me interested through her set.  The place went crazy when she sang “Leave the Pieces”.  Jessica proved that she has every reason to be in country music, her voice was pretty amazing.

The last time I saw Trent Tomlinson was at the Tin Roof a few months back.  That performacnce left me with a bad taste in my mouth but I must say after Friday night my mouth was left feeling clean again.  He had a lot of energy on stage and seemed to enjoy what he was doing.  It was entertaining! He makes no apologies for the songs he writes, even if some of them have a pretty specific audience. 

Before Jason Michael Carroll hit the stage I found myself trying to figure out what songs he sang.  The only one I could remember was ”Livin’ Our Love Song”.   Jason sang a lot of songs from his new album, most I was not familiar with but his voice his is strong and commanding it was hard not to take notice.  Both Tawny and I forgot that he sang “Alyssa Lies”.   Tear jerker!  Acoustic performances either make or break an artist.  Jason pulled it off without a hitch.  His voice probably didn’t even need the microphone; it had so much power.  Jason also worked the stage more than any of the artists…He went from one end to the other making eye contact with as many people as he could.

Phil Vassar didn’t sing long enough!  The man has SO many GREAT songs!  I would have been happy to hear him sing double the time of most everyone else, and we would have been treated to a special free concert on the streets of Nashville if weather had permitted.  Phil obviously came out with no particular set list in mind or on paper.  When someone yelled out a request, he obliged whole heartidly.

If you read this blog you know that I am a HUGE John Rich fan!   He did not disappoint at all Friday night.  He has a charm about him that I just cannot resist.  Check out the videos that we took on our YouTube page. He got the whole crowd fired-up, and even took some requests.  John Rich acoustic leaves a totally different impression than the ‘bigger than life’ persona we get from television.  He seems much more charming, laid back, and ‘real’ when it’s just him and a guitar…even if it is bedazzled.

The greatest thing about the evening is that 103.3 WKDF donated part of the proceeds from the ticket sales to Murfreesboro, TN Tornado Victims.

Take a look at all of our pictures from the show on our Flikr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/countrymusictattletale/sets/

Don’t forget to watch the John Rich video on YouTube – it’s John having some fun with fans from the audience.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZocsOwoa_WI

~Tawny and Country Girl